Five things we learned from opera amuse Sweeney Todd

• What: A preview of the 'musical thriller' Sweeney Todd

• Location: the biggest rehearsal room of the Dutch Travel Opera

• Present: almost the entire cast, one hundred and fifty guests

• Menu: bread, pastry, a dessert as pretty as it is tasty

• Drinks: water, red/white wine ánd Bloody Mary's, complete with celery as a stirrer, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, pepper (and salt, nowhere to go), lemon (should have been lime), prepare it yourself

(1) How to make a Bloody Mary

For some guests, it's a bit of a scare. The ingredients are on the table, but now what? Not to worry, Sanne Wallis de Vries and Dale Duesing give advice from their kitchen island: no more than a few drops of Tobasco, watch the ratio of vodka to tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce really adds something. 'The idea is to get you all drunk,' says occasional presenter Gable Roelofsen.

(2) How to put together a cast

Sweeney Todd is no ordinary musical about one of the most notorious serial killers. For a start, it is largely through-composed. So no song, scene, song, scene, as in the film adaptation with Johnny Depp. In addition, the vocal demands are varied. From too difficult for many musical singers to precisely deliberately written for actors. The cast gathered by the Reisopera has it all.

Judging from what 'old hands' Dale Duesing (in the title role), Harry Nicoll and Richard Stuart show, this production promises to be a memorable one. Then add Tyler Clarke and Nina Lejderman, comedienne Sanne Wallis de Vries in the dream role of the maniacal pie-baker Mrs. Lovett, to say the least, and musical star Doris Baaten (now seen in She believes in me, but she sang this musical twenty years ago at... Joop van den Ende) and you have a perfect cocktail. Especially when Gable Roelofsen, especially on the rise as director and actor, plays Tobias Ragg. And so will sing 'Not while I'm around' - in the hands of, say, Barbara Streisand, an assault on the enamel - but now hopefully genuinely moving. Because.

(3) Stephen Sondheim is a genius

Not only because of his lyrics, 'he's just too clever sometimes' sighs Harry Nicoll, not only because of his beautiful melodies, but above all because he puts everything at the service of the characters. This was already evident when he provided Leonard Bernstein with the lyrics for West Side Story provided, but especially in his own work. Just read the lyrics to Sondheim's biggest hit (and not even his best song), 'Send in the clowns'. Besides: anyone who bases another musical with no real plot on a painting ('Un dimanche après-midi à l'Île de la Grande Jatte' by Georges Seurat), in addition to citing Mozart, Stravinsky and Alban Berg to death, no, they can't fail. To this amuse, we hear a beautiful quartet, with Sweeney using his knife, while at the same time sounding a poignant love duet. Eat your heart out, Andrew Lloyd-Webber.

(4) Director Marcel Sijm and conductor Jeroen Sleyfer are of many minds

By his own account, he grew up in Friesland between revue and operetta. After that, he soon directed many operas, including Der Freischütz and Snow White at the Reisopera and Legend at the National Opera. That working with young talent is no stranger to him either, he recently proved with Vivier's Kopernikus.

Conductor, composer and arranger Jeroen Sleyfer is equally versatile. And his musical experience is immense. We mention: He believes in me, Soldier of Orange, Ciske the rat, Petticoat, Mama Mia, Chess - andfin that list is endless. And oh, he was also closely involved in Doe Maar's Symphonica in Rosso. He now conducts the Gelderland Orchestra: 'Quite small for them; 32 men in the pit, but unprecedentedly large for a musical.' And, Sleyfer immediately adds, 'Well amplified, just like the soloists...'

(5) Such an amuse bouche tastes like more

The formula is ironclad. After barely ten days of rehearsals, showing the audience what you are making. Just in the building where the final performance is to take shape, in a relaxed atmosphere where everyone is equally approachable. 'They are all very good though,' whispers Sanne Wallis de Vries after singing 'The worst pies of London'. The chorister opposite her nods. No wonder this amuse bouche sold out stiff and tastes like more. For lots more, even without Bloody Mary in hand.